Detail

`The people of Korea, as any other people, are well aware that Nature is the very source of human lives and the provider of their daily life. In the hope that the current nationwide campaign for nature conservation will be carried out successfully, the Ministry of Communications has selected ten kinds of animals and plants ­­ five each of flora and fauna ­­ that are nearing extinction to be depicted in postage stamps that are being issued this year. The purpose of these stamps is to publicize the need for preserving these rare species. The following two stamps are the seventh and eighth of this series. 1. Maeng­ggong­i (Rain Frog) About 200 species in the world are known to belong to the family, Micro-hylidae, which includes rain frogs. Rain frogs inhabit mostly the tropical region, including Central America, Africa, and Southern Asia. There is only one species in Korea. The rain frog is generally small in size and has a head as wide as its body. The dorsal side of the body is blueish yellow. They usually hide in the rank weeds on the border of rice paddies or ponds and lay eggs during the rainy season of early June. At this time we can enjoy their loud rhythmical croaking......a lamenting song of nature. 2. Gorancho(Asian Polypody) The gorancho, or Asian Polypody, is a tiny evergreen fern growing on shaded rocks. Its fronds strethch from creeping horizontal rhizomes. Its Korean name gorancho originated from the Goran Temple by the Baekma River flowing through southern Korea. But it grows also by the side of the Hantan River to the north. It is found in Japan, the Likiu Islands, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Manchuria in areas where there is sufficient humidity.`